KUALA LUMPUR – Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) should acknowledge its weaknesses and strive to improve, following its recent ranking as the eighth worst airport in Asia according to business travellers, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan said today.
Noting that though many reforms are underway, he said complaints about services at Malaysia’s main international hub must still be assessed.
“We have to see what is the main reason why KLIA has been recognised as one of the airports that does not provide the best service.
“The many reforms made by the KLIA management shows continuous efforts (to improve) are ongoing, but whatever weaknesses found must be acknowledged and improved,” Bernama quoted him as saying after attending an event involving the Malaysian Handicraft Development Corporation (Kraftangan Malaysia).
Khairul Firdaus was commenting on a recent ranking compiled by the Businessfinancing.co.uk on the best and worst airports in various parts of the world, based on reviews by business travellers
In Asia, KLIA scored 3.36 out of 10, placing it one spot higher than Thailand’s Don Mueang International Airport which scored 3.45.
The best airport in Asia, in contrast, was Vietnam’s Noi Bai International airport, which scored 6.8 out of 10. Singapore’s Changi was second best, with a score of 6.63.
Both Noi Bai and Changi also held first and second place, respectively, in the list of best airports in the world.
On an airline reviews website, airlinequality.com, among travellers’ complaints about KLIA are its long queues and long walks to reach terminals, and the lack of good facilities.
The airport’s aerotrain system has been suspended since March last year, when they reached the end of their serviceability period. The entire system is being replaced, with one out of two lines expected to be operational this year, with the service fully restored next year.
KLIA’s ranking on Skytrax had been among the world’s top ten best airports in 2001, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Last year, it came in at 67th. – February 29, 2024